Walk With Me
by polysgirl
Summary: When Steph gets shot by a skip, everything changes...
1. Chapter 1

Sawyer Brown – The Walk

_Cause I took this walk you're walking now  
Boy, I've been in your shoes  
You can't hold back the hands of time  
It's just something you've got to do  
So dry your eyes I understand just what you're going through  
Cause I took this same walk with my old man  
Boy, I've been in your shoes_

Mildly altered, these lyrics inspired this story. It is a chapter story, but I don't intend for it to be a hugely long full length fic. Note – I don' INTEND for it. We'll see.

As always, I don't own any of the characters.

This story is brought to you by the letters B, for Babe, L, for Lisa who is owed many thanks for the current (and likely future) medical advice, and finally by the letter S, for STAYCE, for whom I owe an immeasurable amount of thanks for all the ass-kicking and help in structuring my drivel into the work that it is now :)

I definitely would like to know what everyone thinks of this. Is it worth continuing? I think this is a story which will be motivated largely by reviews :)

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

**CHAPTER 1**

I knew as soon as I woke up that something was terribly wrong, but I couldn't, for the life of me, remember what it was. It was obvious I was in the hospital, from the beeping of the monitors to the stark, perfectly bleached ceiling above me. I knew I should know what was going on, but it was eluding me. I wasn't sure what to do, so I started to take stock of my body. I couldn't seem to turn my head, but couldn't figure out if it was braced or stuck. I tried to wiggle my toes, but I couldn't find them. It hit me with startling clarity that my whole body was non-existent. And that's when I remembered.

In my mind I screamed, but in reality my throat was dry and it came out as little more than a squeak. Before I could try again, two large hands framed my face, exerting gentle pressure at the same time as two midnight-black eyes bore into mine. I tried to avert my eyes, my mind still screaming, but my gaze was locked in his.

"Breathe, Babe." He whispered. His breath washed over my skin, and I gulped a breath as my heart -- I could feel my heart -- leapt erratically against my chest, radiating pain through my body as it did. "Shhhh. Breathe." One of his hands trailed downward to press into my neck, where my pulse was jumping. I could feel that, too. "Just breathe." he whispered again as he lowered his forehead to mine. He rested against me for a second before moving back to meet my eyes again. I was still gulping breaths, trying to control them. His thumb started rubbing circles over my pulse point as he held my gaze.

"Better?" He asked. He started to pull away and I whimpered. He didn't come back, though. Instead, he moved away so I could see his whole face, but no further. His hands were still against my cheeks and neck and he kept his eyes trained on mine until my breathing had steadied enough that I wasn't almost hyperventilating. I broke away from his gaze first, and let my eyes roam his face. He looked different, and my mind was just fuzzy enough that it took a little while to registered that there were added lines around his eyes, and mouth. His face wasn't blank, at all. Exhaustion, strain, and worry were written across it plain as day.

"Better?" He asked again. I wanted to touch the lines around his eyes, massage them away, wrap my arms around his neck and never let go...but I couldn't lift my arms.

"What-" I gasped, and he put his fingers to my lips.

"Shhh." he said, before offering me a glass with a straw. I didn't want water, though, I wanted answers. I couldn't feel my body. Was it even there? I didn't know, and I needed to know. I mentally screamed again, and it came out as another squeak.

"Steph." Ranger said sharply. He got my attention, at least. I stared at him, my heart beating so hard it was ramming its way up my throat. "Take a drink, Babe." He softened his voice and stroked my cheek with two fingers. "Then we'll talk." I looked into his eyes and focused on his touch until I felt I could swallow. He offered me the straw again, and I took a small sip, letting the water trickle down as it soothed my parched throat. He kept stroking my face as he held the glass for me to drink. As long as I could look into his eyes, I was ok. If I could see in his eyes, I was alive, and he could fix everything for me.

"Better?" He asked when I was done drinking.

"What- Why?" I croaked. My throat wasn't as dry, but it was still sore and I felt like I hadn't spoken in weeks.

"Do you remember Hayes?" He asked me softly. He sat on the edge of the bed, his hand still tracing patterns on my cheek and forehead. I remembered Hayes. I remembered being shot. And the fire in my back before I died. At least, I thought I had died. Now, though, it was obvious I hadn't. Or, at least, my brain was still functional. I wasn't sure if I about my body.

"Yes. Where's the rest of my body?" I asked.

"It's all here, Babe. What do you remember about him?"

"He shot me. Why can't I move my body?" I demanded. My voice was finally cooperating and it was shrill enough to hurt even my own ears. My heart was beating in my throat again, and I felt like gagging on it.

"Breathe, Steph. Slow breaths." Ranger reminded me. "The bullet hit in close proximity to your spine. It grazed your spinal column." He continued a moment later, when I had myself under control again. "The swelling from the injury has created a temporary paralysis."

"Is it forever?" I fought through the fog of hysteria that was rapidly taking over, trying to focus on Ranger's eyes. If I lost them, I was pretty sure I'd be lost forever.

"Temporary, Babe. You're going to be fine. Stay with me this time." There was a note of pleading in his voice that caught me, and jolted me back.

"This time?" I gasped. Then, the last piece of the puzzle fell together, and I remembered the last time I'd been awake. The all-consuming panic, Ranger's voice coming from so very far away, and so many people all around me, before I fell back into darkness. "Don't leave." I tried to reach for him, and tears filled my eyes when I couldn't, again. His other hand came up to my face, and then he leaned forward to kiss each of my eyelids.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Why can't I move my head?" I asked. Ranger's fingers had found their way into my hair and were massaging my scalp. It soothed me.

"You don't have much ability to move anything right now. The injury is severe, but your doctors are confident that there will be no permanent paralysis."

"But there might be? I might never be able to walk or move again?"

Before Ranger could answer me, Joe's voice filtered in. "I thought the doctors said she shouldn't know yet." The accusation hung like lead across the room.

The fear and panic were still very real, and the only reason they weren't consuming me was because of Ranger. The funny thing about fear, though, is it can be replaced by anger. And Joe managed this instantly. The very thought that he would have left me in the dark, not knowing, that he would let me drown, to suffocate on my own hysteria did nothing but piss me off.

"She needed to know. The doctors don't know everything. Not knowing would have been more upsetting than knowing." Ranger said, and the cold finality of his tone made goosebumps break out on my head. He looked down at me and raised one eyebrow. "Take it easy. Concentrate, and you should be able to move your head." He softened as he continued to rub circles in my scalp.

I focused all of my energy on it, and managed to turn my head slightly to the side. "That's it, Babe." Ranger encouraged me. Knowing I could move at least one part of my body was a relief."

Joe came over to the other side of my bed, and I'm pretty sure he took my hand in his, but I couldn't feel it. "You can go now." He told Ranger.

"No!" I couldn't handle it if Ranger left. Not if he was the only person who would be straightforward with me.

"Cupcake, what're you saying?" Joe's voice went dark, and I could tell he was getting ready to fly across my bed at Ranger, no matter that I was lying helpless in it at the time.

"Morelli." Ranger's voice was cold again. "I suggest, for Steph's sake, that we work together. The last thing she needs right now is some macho bullshit. And I'm not leaving."

"Of course not. Gotta make sure she recovers enough to pay you back. I don't even want to know what payment plan you're going to work out." Morelli snarled under his breath, then sighed. "You at least call the nurse and let them know she was awake?"

"Not yet. And Steph owes me nothing."

"For what?" I asked Ranger, as Morelli moved to hit the call button.

"He didn't tell you?" Joe cut in before Ranger could answer. "He's got the best doctors in the country at your beck and call."

"The..." I looked into Ranger's eyes again, searching for an inkling of what he was thinking.

"We're going to get you better, Babe."

"How much is it costing you?" I asked. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I wasn't sure I could handle being indebted to Ranger like that.

"Pocket change." He said simply.

Joe gave a wry laugh. "Must be nice to have enough money to consider ---" He was interrupted by the nurse bustling into the room. I was lost in a haze of confusion then, as doctors and nurses swarmed in, poked, prodded, and asked questions. Most of the questions were directed at Ranger and Joe. When the room finally cleared and it was just the three of us again, I was hardly able to keep my eyes open.

"Morphine's kicking in. Sleep, Babe." Ranger said softly.

"Will you still be here when I wake up?" I asked. It was imperative that I know I wouldn't be left alone. I couldn't say why, I just knew that I needed them. "Both of you?"

"Not going anywhere, Babe."

"I'll try, Cupcake. I'm on call, but I don't plan on going anywhere."

Reassured, as much as I could be, I let the morphine take me away, spiraling me into warped and restless dreams.

_The pungent smell of alcohol, sweat, and smoke flooded my senses as I walked into the seedy bar. A chill ran down my spine, and I forced back a shiver. Focus, Stephanie. I took a casual look around the room, and spotted my skip._

"_I'm on." I told Ranger. Devin Hayes was a tough, nasty character whose file should never have landed on my plate. Ranger took the file over to bring him in, but then determined he'd need me for distraction anyhow. As a result, Hayes was my skip as much as Ranger's and Ranger was my backup._

_"Go get 'em, Tiger." He said into my ear. "Be careful. Remember, he's a mean son of a bitch. No taking chances."_

_I nodded towards Lester, sitting in a corner with two blondes. He mouthed 'hot' at me, referring to me, of course. I was barely dressed, wearing an outfit designed to lure the most disgusting of characters out with ease. I felt like I was naked, the skirt so short the wind was kept blowing on my ass cheeks. And they were cold, frigidly so. It felt as if I had ice packs strapped to my ass. My top was so skimpy it was barely there also, showing belly and cleavage. I was surprised my breasts stayed covered. I hoped I screamed sleazy, because I couldn't wait to get Hayes out of the bar so that I could slip into Ranger's delicious jacket and burrow myself in it._

_I surveyed the scene a moment longer, before swaying over to Hayes and sliding onto the stool beside him. I slanted him a look. "Hey Handsome." I slurred. "How's it goin'?"_

_He glanced over at me with little interest, then did a double take and openly leered. I wanted to cringe and run away, but I steeled myself and leaned into him._

"_Looking better by the minute." He answered with a slimy grin before peering down my cleavage. "What's your name, Princess?"_

"_Tiffany." I offered, pushing my chest into him. Let him get the hint so we can leave._

"_Tiffany. Like the jewelry. Suits you, princess. You like wearing jewelry?"_

"_There are better things to wear." I suggested, eliciting a bark of laughter from him. I repressed the urge to shudder. _

"_Let me buy you a drink." He suggested. No No No, I didn't want a drink. But I agreed, who knows why. Margarita for Princess Tiffany, he had said, and then the drink magically materialized in front of me. I took a slow sip, not liking the new nickname but unable to do a thing about it. I would forever after avoid the word Princess, after this man.__ I went to take another sip of the margarita, but as I tipped it back the glass emptied until there was nothing left, depriving me of my drink. I was dying of thirst, and every time a glass of water appeared in front of me, it drained before my eyes. And why was I being handed water in a bar? _

_Hayes was hanging over me, his breath on my neck as he continued to look down my shirt with interest. He tipped his head up and trailed his tongue along my jaw line, from my ear to my chin. "I get the feeling you're up to something, Princess. You wanting to take this someplace more private maybe?"_

"_Private?" I opted to play coy. I had always found that being TOO easy just made it take longer to get out of the bar with the skip._

"_Well, if you're partial to public displays, I must say sliding into you on the dance floor has some distinctly arousing possibilities." he said, as his hand slid from my knee up to my hip, his fingers grazing over places I desperately wanted to protect. _

"_You mean you're ready and willing, Big Boy?" I whispered, leaning into him and shifting slightly in attempt to move away from his fingers without being too obvious. _

"_I could take a pretty piece like you over and over, sweet cheeks." He said, then stood, pulling me up with him. "Dance floor, or somewhere else?"_

"_I have just the spot." I told him, infusing as much velvet seduction into my voice as I could. He thrust his pelvis into me and I could feel him, and I could feel him inside of me, but when I looked down we were still both clothed. I had the sudden urge to run, but I couldn't get my legs to work. He was leading me from the bar, and I remembered that this was the goal. I was almost done, and Ranger's warm jacket waited._

_My legs weren't working properly as he led me from the bar. They felt like lead, and I just knew something bad was going to happen. I didn't flinch or turn when I heard my name called from behind me. Some guy I didn't recognize calling for "Stephanie Plum?" He came into my peripheral vision and I recognized Mike Lawson, a guy I had dated when I was in college, but I didn't let on that I knew him. We kept walking, and then we were at the door. Three more steps and we were home free, but suddenly the door was miles away and we were never going to get there, and there was a gun at my back._

"_Stephanie Plum, huh? The bounty hunter? Thought you'd play me for a fool, Princess?" He whispered so quietly in my ear I knew the wire under my breast would never pick it up. He had one hand over my mouth, and I couldn't scream. I tried to kick him and struggle, but my body wasn't cooperating. Invisible ropes bound me. And then he swung the door open, staying beside me. I don't know how it looked normal, but it must have. Bobby and Ram were in wait, ready to grab him the instant he stepped into open air. This allowed me to duck back if necessary, but now I couldn't move, couldn't get my feet to work, couldn't struggle. My heart quit beating and I couldn't breathe. I knew this, remembered this. This happened before. This is where I died. I tried to bite down on his hand, to scream at Bobby and Ram that he had a gun, but he leaned into me and licked my ear. "This isn't how it went, sweetheart. And this time, you can't struggle, and I won't miss. This time, you'll be dead." He said at the same time as Bobby and Ram grabbed him by the arms, and the gun went off. _

_I felt the bullet tear through my skin. My body wanted to stagger, and fall, but it felt like I was tied to the ground. I looked down and my feet were bolted to the cement. I was going to die, standing up, and I knew it with certain clarity. And then as suddenly as I saw the bolts in my feet, they disappeared. Then I was floating above the parking lot, and I saw myself lying on the ground. And Ranger was standing over me, arms crossed, face hard and disproving. And then he spoke, but it wasn't his voice. It was Joe's._

"_You screwed up, Stephanie. I always told you this would happen, that you are you disaster of a bounty hunter. You should have quit the first time I told you to find a new job. You chose this fate, and now you will die for it." _

_I tried to scream that he'd always supported me, when a light flashed so bright my vision when black. Next thing I knew, I was in a white room, and the light was blinding me. I couldn't move my body, and I couldn't find my toes. I had no fingers, no arms, and no legs. I started to scream Ranger's name over and over, but I had no voice and my screams went unheard._

I could hear screaming, but until it jarred me awake I didn't realize it was mine. My head was heavy, and it took a minute to realize it was weighted by Ranger's hands. It took another moment longer for me to recognize that Ranger was speaking to me, repeating over and over again that I was ok, and was going to be ok.

"When did you tell me this would happen?" I asked him, gasping as I tried to breathe.

"It was just a dream, Babe."

"You told me I was a disaster of a bounty hunter. When?" I switched questions.

"You're not a disaster, Babe."

"You said -"

"You were dreaming." I focused hard on his fingers rubbing circles in my scalp again, and took a couple of steadying breaths. "Hayes?" He asked, and I nodded.

"I can move my head." I noted instantly, my voice sharp as I left it an open question for Ranger to confirm.

"That's good." Ranger smiled gently at me as he rubbed a soothing circle on my neck. "The morphine skews stuff. It's normal." He reassured me.

"I'm still paralyzed." I whispered to him. "I can maybe feel my hands, though."

"It'll be a while, Babe."

"Where's Joe?"

"Right here, Cupcake." I turned my head and met Joe's eyes. He looked back at me with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"I'm sorry." I told him. I told both of them, really.

"It's okay, Cupcake. You should try to sleep some more. You need it."

"We'll be here." Ranger added softly, as Joe bent and placed a loving kiss on my lips.

As I drifted off to sleep, the last thing I heard was Joe's accusing voice, berating Ranger for ever encouraging me to think I could be a bounty hunter.

* * *

So...what should happen next? Is there a next? Maybe this should be the end? Let me know! 


	2. Chapter 2

**The muse has fled…**

**And Thank you, Stayce, for once again fixing my every blunder!**

**

* * *

**

I woke up, again, to the beeping of monitors and comforting warmth in both of my hands. Ranger and Joe were talking in hushed tones. My mind was too fuzzy to make out what they were saying, but I could tell by his tone that Joe was angry. Ranger's voice was cold, expressionless.

The fog started to clear from my brain and I could finally make out what they were saying.

"Get a grip, Morelli. Stephanie doesn't need this crap right now." Ranger hissed.

"If it weren't for you, she wouldn't even be here." Joe spat back.

"It was her skip." I didn't like the inflection that came into Ranger's voice, but Joe didn't heed it.

"It wouldn't have been her skip if you hadn't encouraged her, if you hadn't let her think that she could actually be a bounty hunter. She would have given up and found a real job."

I guessed it didn't matter. I could hardly be a bounty hunter if I couldn't walk. And then it hit me. I couldn't walk. I was really paralyzed. My heart started to pound as I realized, finally, how much my life had changed.

I still hadn't opened my eyes, but was working my way towards full hysteria when I felt an increase in pressure on my hand from Ranger's side of the bed. He had squeezed my hand.

"She could have had a job at Rangeman whenever she wanted one." Ranger informed Joe as he squeezed my hand, again.

I could feel it. It didn't feel normal, but I could still feel Ranger squeezing my hand. I didn't want him to think that I thought it was his fault I got hurt. I didn't want to "wake up" for real, though, because that would have meant I'd have to deal with Joe. I tried to squeeze Ranger's hand back, but my hand wouldn't cooperate. I tried a second time, and still nothing.

"Doing what? Warming your bed?"

Ranger was close to having enough of Morelli. I could feel it even in his hand. Now I just needed to find a way to tell him it was ok without letting Joe know. Shit. Why couldn't Joe just leave? I already knew I was a failure. I didn't need to hear it again. I focused, and made one last try at squeezing his hand. This time, I felt my fingers flex ever so slightly... I still couldn't squeeze, but I'd made them move!

Ranger's whole body went still, and he squeezed my hand again. I could feel his eyes on me, as if he was waiting to see what would happen.

"What? What's wrong? Stephanie?" Joe started in, and then he was shaking my shoulders.

"Back off, Morelli. She shouldn't be moved." Ranger's voice washed over me like ice water. I ignored it, and focused on squeezing his hand again. My fingers flexed no more than the first time, but still, it hadn't been coincidence. Ranger started to rub circles on my wrist, and I slowly opened my eyes to look at him.

"I can feel my hands." I whispered. I was almost scared, though, that when I admitted it, the feeling would go away and I'd be numb again. I didn't want to be numb. My eyes met Ranger's, and he gifted me with a small smile. I could feel Joe squeeze my other hand.

"You can? Really Cupcake? You can feel this?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah." It was...desensitized, but I could feel it.

"Can you squeeze mine?" I channeled myself and flexed my fingers against Joe's hand. It only barely twitched, and it took all of my concentration, but I managed it. I smiled at Joe, who leaned forward and kissed me softly.

"Try again. See if you can do it with more than one finger." he suggested.

I tried, but still only managed to barely flex a finger. "That's all I can do." I shook my head. My heart started to pound again, and Ranger rubbed a soothing circle on the back of my hand.

"It's ok, Cupcake." He said sympathetically.

"It's the best I can do! What if it's all I can do?" I gritted my teeth as fear washed over me again. What if I was never able to use my hands again? I had a sudden vision of being able to feel, but never use my hands or legs again. I saw myself trapped in my own body and I couldn't stand the thought. I shivered, and blinked back tears.

I felt Ranger squeeze my hand in silent reassurance, and I cut my eyes to him. "What if I can never use my hands again?"

"You will. Give it time." Ranger answered softly, as he locked eyes with me.

"I'll call the nurse. She'll maybe be able to tell us more." Morelli suggested, gave me another quick kiss, and then he left the room.

"What if-"

"Babe. It's normal. Just takes time. I promise we'll get you better."

Ranger brought my hand to his lips and kissed it as I looked into his eyes. I was trying to read his thoughts, to see if he was telling me the truth or just what he thought I should hear.

"Truth, always." he whispered, tucking a stray curl around one ear. That led me to my next fear. That getting me better was going to be so impossible even Ranger couldn't make it happen. I didn't get a chance to get past the lump in my throat in order to ask about it, though, before Joe strode back in with the nurse on his heels.

"You can feel your hands?" The nurse looked at me. I nodded. She came over and took the hand Joe had been holding. She pressed my thumb and asked if I could feel it. I nodded. She continued to press my fingers and different spots across my palm and wrist, then up my arm. I could feel most of it, but sometimes it was just a numb idea of pressure that shouldn't be there. Then she took my hand in hers. "Squeeze my hand."

Once again, I put all of my concentration into it, but still only managed to flex a finger. The nurse 'hmm-ed' and wrote something on the clipboard.

"That was the best I could do." I told her. "Why can't I do more than that?"

"The swelling along your spinal column is obviously receding, since you can feel your hands. That's more than the doctor would have expected so far. I'll let him know the good news and he'll be by to check on you also."

"But why can't I use my hands?"

"It'll take time for the swelling to go down, and the pressure on your nerves to be released. Once that happens, you'll slowly gain more and more feeling and ability to use your hands."

The nurse left after telling me, again, that she'd check in with my doctor and he'd probably be by to see me the next morning.

"What time is it, anyway?" I asked, glancing at Joe.

"Four in the afternoon. Three days after you got shot, in case you were wondering." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed and placing a hand I couldn't feel on my belly. I glanced at his face and saw the weariness in his eyes. Then I shifted my attention to Ranger, and really looked at him. The lines of tension and exhaustion were prominent in his face, marring his features. Tears filled my eyes as I realized that both of them were suffering, and that it was my fault.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to both of them.

"Just glad you're still with us, Cupcake." Joe said, leaning down and kissing the corner of my mouth. I glanced at Ranger and he gave his head a tiny shake.

"Not your fault." He said. He reached forward and brushed the tears from my eyes before trailing a gentle finger down my cheek. "I have to go. I have some business I need to take care of at the office." I saw the question in his eyes; filled with concern as to whether or not I would be alright while he was gone.

"Will you be back?"

"Always."

"You're staying?" I asked Joe. I really didn't want to be alone.

"Of course." Joe smiled at me. "I'll try and find us a television."

"Okay." I told Ranger.

"I'll tell them to get you a TV." He said, then he kissed my forehead and trailed a finger along my hairline, tucking a wayward curl behind my ear. He caught my eye for a brief moment, before turning and walking out the door.

True to Ranger's promise, a television was wheeled in about a half hour later. It was a 42" plasma and Joe's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw it.

"See, now you're benefiting from Ranger's generosity, too." I told him with a grin.

Joe gave me a look that suggested I had grown two heads. "Ranger is NOT generous."

"Sure he is." Actually, Ranger loved me...but I didn't feel like the fight that would result if I told Joe that.

"Not just Ranger, sweet thing. This is from all of us." Lester said as he bounded into the room. He placed a box of chocolates on the bedside table and leaned down to place a smacking kiss on my lips. "That's from all of us, too."

Joe glared at him stonily, until he moved over to the television, motioning at Joe to follow. They set about hooking it up, and started to discuss the finer points of the set. Then they sat down, one on either side of me, ran the setup, and flipped through every channel. When they were done, Lester sat the bed up, wheeled the table over my bed and then reached into the side pocket of his cargos to pull out a pile of DVDs. He lined them up in front of me. "Pick one and we'll put it in the machine."

'Ghostbusters' was third in the lineup. I knew that Joe wouldn't want to see it again, though, so I picked 'Gone in 60 Seconds".

"My favorite!" Lester grinned. Of course. He popped the movie in, wheeled the others out of the way, and settled down in the chair beside me again. We watched the movie...well, Joe and Lester watched the movie in rapt silence. My mind was wandering, as I went through the possibilities for my future. I didn't like any of them, and each one of them just scared me more. I didn't know what I'd do if I was going to be this way forever.

My thoughts were interrupted by Joe's pager. He checked it, frowned, then leaned over to kiss me on the lips. "Gotta go, Cupcake. I can't drop this case or the Chief'll rip me a new one."

Lester and I watched the rest of the movie. With Joe gone, Lester relaxed some and started to comment on the different scenes. I thought, maybe, he knew that my mind was traveling down fears row, and instead he made sure I didn't have time to think. It didn't really help, though. I couldn't help but replay the events I could remember, trying to figure out where I went wrong. When the movie was over, he shut the television off, leaned back in his chair, and looked at me.

"Ranger send you to guard my body?" I asked, mentally giving him a burg eye roll.

"No. I just wanted to visit." Lester said, his expression twisting strangely.

"What?" The merry men didn't just visit.

Lester looked at me a minute, then shook his head sharply, once, before nodding towards the TV. "Let's watch Ghostbusters. I hear it's your favorite."

Now I knew for sure something was up. My breath caught in my throat and I choked as I tried to breathe. "What is it? What's going on?" What was Ranger not telling me?

"Relax, Steph. Nothing's wrong and there's nothing for you to worry about."

"Then why are you here, guarding me?"

I got another strange look. "I'm lucky I'm alive, never mind employed. I might still have my job but Ranger is hardly going to trust my guard." Lester inhaled, and dropped his gaze to the floor. Suddenly, the big man who had always been so capable, specialized and confident, the playboy who was always available with a cheeky grin, seemed to want to be anywhere but in my room - as if he couldn't stand to be in my presence.

"Lester! Tell me!" I warned. I couldn't handle not knowing - not now. I needed to know, to mentally prepare, even if physically I was helpless. I needed to know so I could come to terms with what I was helpless against.

"It was our fault, Steph. Me and Ram." Lester muttered.

"What?! You're nuts."

"We got you shot." He sent me a pointed look. "We should have been more aware, noticed the gun. We're lucky Ranger hasn't kicked our asses all the way to hell. Christ, Steph, I'm grateful you're even talking to me."

"You're nuts." I repeated. "That was **my** fault. If I weren't so incompetent, incapable of doing my job safely, I wouldn't have given myself away." My thought process during the movie hadn't entirely left yet, and I couldn't seem to help but say it out loud. I fought back tears, as voicing it made the reality clearer, more obvious, and more painful.

"What the hell? Beautiful, you can't possibly believe that! Ranger would never hire you if you couldn't do the job."

"He's humoring me. It's the entertainment value." I scoffed. I knew, hell, we all knew that the real reason Ranger had hired me, the reason that I did the distractions for him, instead of Jeanne-Ellen, was really only because I was amusing.

"Not at the expense of his business."

"I **am** an expense in his business. Literally. There's an account with my name on it." My eyes burned as one of the tears I'd been fighting back escaped. I turned my head away from him, focusing on the blank screen on the television. I was hurt, and I was humiliated. I hated the way the drugs that the doctors had me on were loosening my tongue. I had never wanted to say that out loud, especially not to Lester, or any of the Merry Men.

"Steph." I ignored him until Lester's hand cupped my chin and turned my head until I couldn't look away. "You've listened to Morelli for too long."

That was territory I really couldn't handle. "Well it wasn't your fault. It must have been mine. And if Ranger fires you I'll..."

"Stephanie." Lester cut me off. He moved to sit beside me on the bed, one big arm bracing himself as he leaned over me, his other hand moving from my chin to cup my cheek. "Ranger might not want me guarding you, but he won't fire me. He blames himself."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3. Not much else to say. As always, thank you Stayce for helping me fix this mess ;-)**

**L.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

I drifted back to consciousness to a gentle, feather light caress across my skin. As my eyes cleared, Ranger came into focus. He was sitting on the edge of my bed, one hand warm on top of mine, and the other, tracing my cheek and jaw line with one finger.

"The goddess awakens." He said softly, bending to place a soft butterfly kiss on my lips. "Welcome back."

"You came back. Goddess?"

"I didn't think you'd well to 'princess'." My stomach squirmed, agreeing with him. "And I said I would come back." He shrugged. It shouldn't have surprised me, I supposed. Ranger had never broken a promise to me. Then my stomach rumbled and I was reminded of more important things.

"Is it almost dinner?" I asked, wishing I didn't sound quite so hopeful. Knowing my luck Ranger had already ordered me a lovely bowl of salad, probably fat-free dressing, too.

My question, which I had thought was quite valid, was answered with an amused chuckle and Ranger's 200-watt grin. "Dinner was about 10 hours ago. I could probably arrange for breakfast, though, before your doctor arrives."

"I slept that long? It was just supposed to be a nap!" I was sure Lester was probably quite put out. I guess I really wasn't much for company, falling asleep on him for more than just a quick catnap. Somewhere in there, I vaguely remembered Ranger coming back into the room, kissing me gently, and ordering me to sleep. When was that? I couldn't remember. It was like things were all blurred together in a fog, and I didn't like it.

"Relax, Babe. Everything's ok. Sleep is good. It'll help you heal."

"I keep losing time. I don't like it. When did you come back? I don't even know. I remember you coming back, but like a dream, it wasn't real. Why wasn't it real?"

"Just the drugs, Babe. You're ok."

"I don't want them anymore, then."

Ranger chuckled, and I wished I had the ability to throw something at him. "You wouldn't be saying that when they wore off."

"And that's funny? That I need drugs? That I'm here?" I could feel my heart tighten. I was still entertainment, even in this condition?

"No." He cradled my face in his hands, meeting my eyes with dead seriousness. "None of this is funny. Steph..." He caressed my cheek and ran his thumb across my lips. "But we have to keep perspective...Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" And then the rest of Ranger's original statement caught me. The doctor was coming. "Who's my doctor? I hate doctors. Take me home." I begged Ranger. I knew I was whining but I couldn't find the resolve to quit. Must be the drugs, I figured.

"Babe."

"Really. Please? I can be an invalid just as well at Rangeman as I can here. I don't want doctors and needles. I want to go home!"

"And that's Rangeman?"

I stopped rambling and thought back, trying to decipher what I'd said. I had to really concentrate to trace through my last sentences, thoughts, and vocalizations. Probably it wasn't good that I couldn't keep track of what I was saying, but I couldn't really do anything about it. What had I said? Oh. Doctors. Hate doctors. Needles. Home. Rangeman. HOME?!?! "Uh..."

Ranger reached out and cupped my cheek in his hand. His lips curled up and the lines around his eyes crinkled. Ranger was amused.

"Don't." I whined.

"Don't what?" He said, his lips curving slightly more. It was still only the hint of a smile, but I knew damned well it was there.

I narrowed my eyes at him. It was NOT nice to tease the injured party. "You're not allowed to laugh at me when I can't kick you for it."

Ranger chuckled.

"Bastard." I said, without any heat. Ranger moved towards me and pressed his lips against the corner of my mouth.

"Can't we just leave?" I begged again when Ranger pulled back. I really would have preferred no doctors. I hated hospitals to begin with.

"I've never told you about my brother." Ranger said abruptly. The subject change stopped me short and I was sure my mouth hung open while I stared at him.

"You haven't told me about any of your family." I pointed out.

"You know more than most."

I had to think for a minute to catalogue what I knew about Ranger. "Four sisters, one brother, one sister is named Celia, one daughter: Julie. Grandma Roses bakes and we once breathed the same air as your family's house when we were looking for Julie."

"More than most." Ranger repeated, and this time he was full out grinning. "Breathing the same air as the house?"

I shrugged, or tried to. "Well, we did. So what about your brother?"

"Miguel is two years younger than I am. He's the second youngest. We were a lot alike, when we were young."

"You both looked like girls?" I interrupted, grinning at my own brilliance. I remembered him saying that he looked like a girl when he was young. I could remember! Ha!

"Babe." Ranger said, on what was as close to a sigh as he'd ever come up with, before he tugged on one of my curls and continued on. "I had trouble in school, and that pretty much set up Miguel up for the same fate, by simple rights of being the one who came next. He fell into the mold I had already set, in the eyes of the others. He never really got a chance."

"Did he learn to fight dirty, too?" I asked, proud of myself for remembering everything Ranger ever told me about himself. This had been one of the many glimpses into Carlos Manoso that I had gotten while we were looking for Julie.

"I fought dirty enough for both of us." Ranger said with a tone of finality that meant we wouldn't be discussing that aspect of their lives. "Miguel had his own way of coping. While I rebelled against my life and went wild, Miguel took his experiences and went in the opposite direction. He isolated himself; poured over his books and pushed himself to the limits of intellectual perfection."

"And you didn't?" I knew damned well Ranger was more than just street smart. Street smart thugs couldn't quote Sandburg, or run a business as efficiently and powerfully as Ranger did.

"Not the way Miguel did. We're both smart. I did my best and got by well. He pushed himself to the brink. So much so, that he's now ranked as one of the top neurological specialists and neurosurgeons in the country."

"And?" I wasn't sure where he was getting with this talk about his brother. I mean, I'm sure there was a point, and I loved learning more about the Carlos underneath the Ranger... But I was starting to wonder just where, exactly, Ranger was going with this discussion, and whether or not I was going to like it.

"And he's all yours, Babe."

"All...Mine? As in..."

"Morelli told you that you had the best medical care." Ranger elaborated, if you could call that an elaboration. My stomach dropped as I realized that I wouldn't get to enjoy my meeting with Ranger's family - that I was, in fact, going to dread every time I got let into that part of Ranger's life. "Relax." Ranger said softly, brushing my hair back off of my forehead and toying with a curl. "It'll be fine. You'll like Miguel."

"I...Will I?" And more important, would he like me? Or would he think I was a waste of Ranger's money? No. Wait. I wasn't that. I wondered if he drove a Porsche too. If he did, he'd better not ever let me near it. I did enough damage to Ranger's vehicles, best if I didn't start on the rest of his family.

My train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. My eyes shot up in time to see the door open and a man walk through. I had to bite back a shriek of surprise, as the man who could ONLY be Ranger's brother walked into my room, eyes on the papers in his hands. The resemblance was incredible. They were far from identical, and yet the relation was beyond obvious. Miguel had the same mocha latte skin, the same tall, broad body, the same hair and eyes and mouth. His nose was a bit different, and the angle of his chin slightly elevated in comparison to Ranger's. He wasn't as buff, as fit as Ranger, but he was just as drool-worthy.

"Holy hotness." I whispered. Miguel looked up from the papers and flashed me Ranger's two-hundred watt grin. I felt my entire body melt into a puddle on the bed, and I think I moaned.

"Normally I don't see patients socially." Miguel told me. "But if you keep looking at me like that, I think I could make a pretty big exception, love."

I glanced at Ranger and my eyes widened. His face was set in stone, eyes narrowed. "Where's my gun? I need my gun." He reached for his belt and the stone expression vanished, replaced by a slight frown. Then he glared at Miguel. If looks could kill...

"You wouldn't want to do that, Big Bro. Mama would be pissed. You don't want mama pissed." He added, throwing the last comment my way.

"Mama would understand." Ranger said darkly.

Miguel grinned at me again. "You don't mess with a Manoso woman. Even if you're another Manoso." He informed me.

"I'm not his woman." I said at the same time as Ranger growled low in his throat.

Miguel winked at me.

Ranger's scowl deepened, and I could swear he shifted closer to me on the bed. I could feel his presence moving in, even though I hadn't seen a change in his position. It was almost fun, antagonizing Ranger, more so because Miguel was his brother and, I hoped, he knew when to back down. Or, maybe not. I supposed Miguel was enjoying torturing Ranger, and he didn't have to fear being shipped to a third world country because it's not ok to do that to family.

"Don't make me regret calling you in here." Ranger growled, his voice low and threatening.

"Can't believe you picked me for her doctor, hey bro?" Miguel chuckled, with Ranger's 2000 watt grin wide across his face.

Ranger muttered something unintelligible as ice washed over my body. I'd temporarily forgotten that Miguel was my doctor.

"Speaking of doctors...I suppose I should make like a doctor and examine my patient." Miguel continued, and grinned. I knew he was trying to keep the mood light - probably Ranger had told him that I hated doctors - but my attempted chuckle came out as a strangled choking sound.

"Babe. Relax." Ranger ordered, but his voice was soft and gentle, something I'd never heard from him before. His thumb rubbed circles on the top of my hand, creating a faint tickling sensation.

Probably I would have been ok, but Miguel chose this point to look at Ranger and point to the door. "Give Stephanie some privacy while I examine her."

"No!" I heard my voice at the same time as I was trying to bite my tongue and not sound like a baby. Ranger sat, unmoving, on my bed.

Miguel sighed. It was a long, drawn out sigh that spoke of great suffering. "Then move to the chair, big bro, you're in my way."

"You're rapidly approaching doing this pro-bono." Ranger warned darkly as he let go of my hand and moved to the chair.

"And you think, for a minute, that I wouldn't?" Miguel asked sardonically and just like that the mood went from relatively easy joking to deadly serious. There was an undercurrent of something that was beyond my understanding, something that I wasn't privy to. Ranger shrugged and sat silently in the chair. The air was heavy and tense for a minute, and then Miguel broke eye contact with him and turned his attention back to me. A playful grin spread across his face again. "So, Stephanie Plum," He said as he sat on my bed, where Ranger had been. "Pleased to meet the woman who helped my brother rescue Julie." He picked up my hand and began to idly play with my fingers.

"What're you doing?" I really didn't trust whatever this was about. If he kept toying with Ranger, there would be blood in my room and I didn't want that. Nope, definitely not. One injured person was enough.

Miguel ignored my question, and kept playing with my fingers. "How do you feel?" He asked, his voice soft and serious, yet relaxed.

I sighed. "Mostly not. And they keep giving me drugs." I whined. I was tired of the drugs and scared of what I might say while I was on them. I mean...what if I told Ranger that I loved him? Or worse, what if I told Ranger that I loved him **in front of Joe**????

"Do I want to know what you're thinking?" Miguel asked on a chuckle, jerking me back to reality. I could feel my face heat up, and I hoped he couldn't ESP as well as Ranger. For that matter, I hope Ranger's ESP was broken and he didn't catch that, either.

"Uh..."

"Probably not." Ranger interjected, amusement filtering through his words. "Following Stephanie's train of thought requires more than a doctorate."

If I could have hit him, I would have. I settled for glaring at him, which did nothing but widen the grin on his face, before turning my attention back to Miguel. "Can you make them lay off the drugs?"

"Not yet." He answered, his voice apologetic, as he examined me. Wait - he was examining me? Gentle hands were traveling down my body, assessing. It didn't feel impersonal, or invasive, even. Miguel worked his way down my body, palpating, checking, and asking me if I could feel this, or that, and what I felt. Sometimes it felt normal. Around my ribs he created pain, but backed off as soon as I winced. And sometimes I just felt the odd pressure of something you can't shake off, like a fly. Miguel laughed when I told him that.

"Why can't I go off the drugs?" I asked when he was finished.

"They're painkillers and anti-inflammatories. They're helping reduce the inflammation around your spine, which is imperative for your recovery. The sooner the swelling goes down, the sooner you regain motility and can begin Physical Therapy." Miguel explained. "And, you have to realize that you're feeling alright on the painkillers, but it would be very different if you weren't taking them. If you were to go off of them now, chances are your back would spasm extremely painfully."

"Oh." I didn't think I wanted pain. "What about a smaller dosage?"

"Not yet. Soon, but not yet. We need the inflammation to go down more before we can lower your dose."

"And once the inflammation's down I'll be able to walk again?" Please, please, please let him say yes...

"In time." Miguel said after a pause. My heart sank to my feet. That sounded like he didn't even guarantee I would be walking. "There has been nerve damage, and we won't be able to assess the extent of it until the inflammation recedes. At the moment I'm pleased with how much you can feel, and the reduction in the swelling around your spine is already significant. Once we can assess the nerve damage, we'll be able to create a Physical Therapy routine to help you regain mobility."

Miguel wrote a few things onto the chart as he finished talking to me, moving slightly away from the bed as he did so. Then he sat down on the corner of the foot of the bed and looked at me. I was still turning the part about Physical Therapy around in my brain, and I wondered if everything was code for _we don't know for sure if you'll ever recover_. I didn't want to ask, mostly because I was scared of the answer, so I settled for a flip comment. "Physical Therapy? That sounds an awful lot like exercise." I interjected just the right amount of suspicion into my voice, and Ranger raised one eyebrow at me.

Miguel looked at Ranger, and grinned. "She like exercise?"

"Nope."

"Well, if you two are going to insult me." I glared, "then I'm done with this conversation."

Miguel was done checking papers and asking questions, apparently, but he didn't leave. Instead, he sat down for a bit to visit with Ranger. I was nodding off to the lilting tones of their Spanish conversation when the door opened and Morelli walked in. He looked at Ranger, and then at Miguel, back at Ranger, and then he looked at me. "Fuck." He said conversationally.


	4. Chapter 4

**As always, thank you to Stayce for editing !!!**

**

* * *

Chapter 4**

"Well, I think it's time to start physical therapy." Miguel was telling me. "The swelling is starting to go down nicely, and you're healed enough from the surgery that we can start assessing your status and reconditioning your muscles." It had been two weeks since I'd been shot, and I was anxious to get a move on and get the hell out of here. Physical Therapy wasn't only the logical first step, it was the "thing" that was going to help me escape this place. My hands and feet tingled constantly, and despite my annoyance, Miguel claimed this was a good sign.

The best part, though, was that I could make a fist, and, if I tried really hard, make my arms move - just slightly.

I mean, all they had to do was teach me how to re-use my body, and I could leave, right? I figured if I tried really hard, well, the more effort I put into it, the quicker it would be, right?

"So when's she going to start?" Joe asked, from the corner of my bed where he'd been hovering. Joe hovered a lot, lately - especially if Ranger and Miguel were around. He'd been like that since the first day Miguel came into my room...but mostly, it was my fault. I couldn't help but laugh, internally, anytime I thought about that scenario. It was one of the few moments of entertainment I'd had in what felt like forever, and I was clinging to it like a bee clings to honey.

_It was a tossup as to who found Joe's reaction to seeing the two brothers the funniest - Miguel or Ranger. Probably Ranger, judging from the slight grin and the amusement dancing in his eyes. _

_Probably it would have been me who was most amused, except that I was still thinking the same thing as Joe, just for different reasons. While Joe was thinking "Fuck, two of him" In realization that Ranger was not the freakish anomaly he had hoped, I was thinking "Fuck, two of them to make my hormones run wild." It was probably a good thing I was stuck in bed, otherwise I would probably have a hard time not jumping both of their bones. _

_Then again, I **was** already in bed, I thought as I cut my eyes to Miguel, then Joe, and finally to Ranger. Probably they'd all three fit in here with me. _

"_Jesus, Stephanie." Joe growled, jolting me out of my thoughts. Ranger was laughing softly in the background. _

"_What?" I knew I hadn't said anything out loud._

"_I can't believe you looked at __**HIM**__," he pointed at Ranger, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat, "and licked your lips. What the hell were you thinking?"_

"_I was trying to figure out if all three of you would fit in my bed." I told him before I could stop myself. Damned drugs._

_Ranger roared. I'd never, ever, not once, heard him laugh like that. Joe stared at me for a second before throwing his hands up in the air and stalking towards the door. He had the door swung halfway open before he spun around again, marched to the last chair, and threw himself down in it._

"_I'm not leaving." He stated darkly. Ranger was still chuckling and Miguel was grinning broadly. I would have liked to slap both of them, and I wasn't looking forward to being left alone with Joe._

_I knew Ranger was still watching me as I watched Joe sulk. I could feel his eyes on me. I glanced over at him and noted his blank face. His eyes, however, were still soft and amused, and I couldn't help but send him a sheepish smile._

"_Christ. Steph. Is that really what you want? A threesome? With HIM?!"_

"_It bother you that much to get naked with me, Morelli?" Ranger asked, his voice betraying his increasing amusement._

_Joe's face darkened some more, but he didn't round on Ranger. Instead, he looked at me. "How could you possibly want a threesome?" _

_Probably I should have placated Joe, but my brain and mouth weren't playing nice together. "Foursome, actually." I said before I even processed my words. And I kept going. "You know, if you can't bear to get naked with Ranger, you can all just take turns." I offered, hoping I came across as sweet. I looked at Joe. "You can have Monday, Ranger Tuesday, Miguel Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. Saturday." I cut my eyes to Joe, Ranger, and Miguel respectively for each day. "Sunday I'll keep for myself." After Ranger and Miguel, I'd need to recover. _

_I hadn't thought it was possible, but Joe's face got even darker. Ranger was chuckling again. At least somebody got the humor! "Do you even realize what you're SAYING?" Joe's voice rose an octave with every word. _

"_Morelli."_ _Ranger's voice cut off my next round of stupids. "It's the morphine. Ignore it."_

_Oh yeah. Damned drugs. "This is why you need to cut off the drugs." I whined to Miguel._

"_Agreed."_ _Joe muttered. "The last thing I need is her giving Ranger ideas."_

"_I already had ideas." Ranger interjected. Joe __rounded__ on him with a scowl and he cut his eyes to me so I could see the laughter in them. _

"_Ranger doesn't do anything non-consensual." I put in, hoping to pacify Morelli. That just brought his narrowed gaze back on me. _

"_And you've discussed this?"_

"_It...Well...It's come up." I tried to shrug, but my shoulders wouldn't cooperate._

_Joe looked at me for a long minute, then ran one hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't even want to know."_

Sure enough, Joe didn't leave very much after that. Except, of course, to work, and sleep, and eat. Ranger started to make himself scarce as well, only showing up for my appointments with Miguel...and after visiting hours. Of course, the underworld never sleeps, so Batman can't sit by my bed all the time - he has to spend most of his time saving the world. Busy man. It wasn't often he missed a night, though, and I wondered when on earth he slept. I mean, really slept. I knew he dozed in the chair, but that didn't count for real sleep.

I snapped back to reality to find both Joe and Miguel looking at me. "Oops, what'd I miss?" I asked.

Miguel flashed me Ranger's grin. "I love it when you start to daydream about my brother." He told me. "You get the cutest smile on your face." Joe glared at him and Miguel raised one eyebrow, causing Joe to huff out a sigh before he dropped into the chair beside my bed.

"He was asking if you wanted to start physical therapy today." Joe told me.

I looked at Miguel. "Today?"

"If you're up to it."

The sooner I started, the sooner it would be done. Or, more aptly, the sooner I would get to go home. I was fine if it took a while until I could walk, but dammit, I was going to get into the wheelchair by myself, I was going to get to the bathroom without having to resort to bedpans, or someone carrying me, and I was going to go HOME. And soon. If I was ready for physical therapy, my body had obviously healed enough that I could really start to work on doing more than flexing my fingers. Flexing my fingers and making fists had already gotten boring. "How soon will I be able to go home?"

"You need to heal a bit more, and be able to be somewhat independent - getting in and out of the wheelchair, and so on."

"I'll start today." Home, here I come! Soon. I'd just work really hard at it. Put more effort into this than I've bothered to put into being a bounty hunter. I imagined it would be worse than running in the morning, but the end would be worth it. And if I could already make fists without even having started physical therapy, then the extra help should just speed everything along that much more, especially if I practiced.

Practiced what? was the question going through my mind three hours later. I no longer had any idea how I was ever going to get better. In the 45 minutes the therapist was with me, I hadn't actually gotten to do a thing other than show him the little I could do. Make a fist. Raise my fingers a one hundredth of an inch off the bed. The rest of the exercises had been..well, the therapist did something he called Range of Motion exercises, manipulating my arms and legs at his will. I couldn't help him, and I couldn't stop him. And every time he lifted, flexed, manipulated anything... jolts of pain shot through my body.

"Babe." Ranger's voice interrupted my misery as he sat down on the edge of the bed. His hands came up, and then he was brushing the corners of my eyes with his thumbs, wiping away tears I hadn't even realized I was crying. "The therapist said you did good."

"Well bully for him." I sighed. It hadn't felt good. In fact, it was sheer agony. After the range of motion exercises, he did nerve conduction studies, which was really just a fancy word for Electroshock Therapy. My mother and Joe would be thrilled - fix my legs and my brain all at the same time, and they could have their little burg automaton. I sighed again as my eyes filled with a fresh set of tears. The electroshock crap had been even more painful than the range of motion exercises, and my muscles were screaming even now - throbbing pain that was increasing in intensity every second.

"It's only the first day, you can't expect that much."

"I know it's only the first day. But I should have at least been able to do a little bit more than I already could, right?" I searched his face, his eyes, trying to find some reassurance, but all I could see was sadness, and sympathy. It was the sadness that hit me hardest, though. Was he sad because he knew something I didn't? My breath caught and I choked on my words before I could ask him.

"It's not going to be easy, Babe." His voice was soft as he cupped my cheek in his hand and softly stroked his thumb over my skin. I turned my face into his palm and squished my eyes shut. I imagined that I had clicked my heels together. When I open my eyes, I'll be lying in my bed at home, and this will all have been one big nightmare. It will, really. But I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. I'd tried this before... I kept trying, and hoping, but reality just wouldn't change. And again, when I opened my eyes, I was staring at the white wall, my face still cradled in Ranger's hand.

"I-"

"Hey!" Joe's voice rang out as he bounded into the room. "How'd it-" He cut himself off, and I glanced over to see him practically skidding to a stop. "Manoso," He growled. "What the hell's going on."

I wasn't sure if Ranger was going to answer him or not, because as he turned towards Joe, another spasm of pain shot through my left leg and I gasped. Both men's attention was instantly on me, concern written across their features. Ranger stood and strode to the foot of the bed, running his hand lightly down my leg. His touch did nothing to alleviate the burning pain, and I couldn't stop from wincing as he touched me.

"At least you can feel it." Ranger said quietly, as Joe made his way to my head and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

I wished I didn't feel it. I wished I was Wonder Woman. I wished I had super powers, to heal myself, or better, to turn back time so it had never happened. I wished magic existed, and that I had a genie and a lamp. Anything to tip my world back right-side-up. I wished I could stop the tears from running down my cheeks. Oh, hell, I wished I was Unmentionable.

Unmentionable. I knew someone like that. Diesel. He could help me. But, I realized I didn't have his number - not in my phone, not anywhere. Then again, his number was probably 1-800-4-diesel.

"I want your phone." I demanded of Joe. "Turn it on. I want you to call someone for me."

"Cupcake-"

"NOW." I couldn't help the almost-shriek.

"You can't have cells on in the hospital, Steph. But if you tell me who you need to phone, I'll go outside and call them."

Stupid rule - if you could have wireless internet - which I couldn't use but Ranger often did while I slept - then why not cell phones? But I knew, with sudden clarity, that I had to find a way. I had to talk to Diesel. Diesel had powers. Diesel could fix this. But I couldn't call him, and I didn't want Morelli to. Morelli and Ranger wouldn't understand. So I did the only thing I could think of.

I started to scream for him.

And then something popped and Diesel was standing in front of me. Somewhere in the haze, I registered that Joe and Ranger spun to face the 'intruder.'

"What the fuck?" Ranger growled.

"Where'd he come from?" Joe demanded.

"What the hell!" Was Diesel's contribution. "Sweet cheeks, you just burst my ear drum. And do you realize you pulled me away from an important job?"

"Diesel." I choked, trying to snuffle out the sobs. I heard noises, and Diesel briefly swung his eyes around before looking back at me, but I couldn't look anywhere but at him - at the sight of the face of the only person who could help me.

"What's wrong?" He asked, moving closer, shoving Ranger aside and brushing the hair out of my face. "Why're you in the hospital?"

"I need you." I choked out.

"I kind of figured. What happened?" He asked again.

Haltingly, I gave him a brief rundown. I still couldn't stop crying, and I couldn't even use my hands to swipe at the tears. "I need you to fix me." I finished. His face changed, and I choked. "Please, Diesel. You have powers. You can fix this. I need you to fix this. Turn back time, heal me, I don't care what. Just please, please fix this."

As if his legs failed him, he sank down on the edge of my bed, and glance away from me. He didn't look away quick enough for me to miss the look that crossed his face, though.

"No...Please don't tell me. You have to be able to. You HAVE to. You're my only hope."

"I'm sorry, Steph." He said, looking back to me, his expression filled with sadness and regret. "You can't turn back the hands of time, and you can't change the physical. I may have special talents...but even I don't have the power to perform miracles."

"But.."

He reached out and cradled my face in his hands, and I leaned into his touch like a starving woman. The tears came harder as I locked eyes with his and found that I could read the answer, clear as day. My heart fell somewhere to the base of my body as I realized my last hope was gone. "I would if I could, Sunshine. I wish to hell I could. But I can't."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks, stace**

**Chapter 5**

It was late that night when Ranger came back. After Joe got a nurse to give me more painkillers, and the three men put a collective effort into calming me down - no easy feat, either - Ranger went back to Rangeman to get some important work done. Joe went back on shift, and Diesel hung around and watched movies with me. Well, until Miguel showed up.

Miguel had been making it habit to stop by after he finished his night rounds, and sit with me until Ranger got there. When he walked in this time, I got the pleasure of watching Diesel's eyes bug out of his head.

"Holy shit, it's the man in white." Then he looked at me. "I've never seen him wear anything but black, before."

"That's not Ranger. It's his brother Miguel."

"Can't have two men in black in the family, afterall." Miguel grinned. Diesel rolled his eyes.

"Guess that's my cue to leave. I'll come check on you again, Sunshine. Take care." He kissed the corner of my mouth, then turned to walk out the door. Wow, look at that, he walked out the door like a normal...well, maybe not, I thought, as he disintegrated in the doorway as soon as it was obvious Miguel wouldn't notice.

Instead of sitting in the chair, as was his usual routine, Miguel settled himself on the edge of the bed, facing me. His eyes danced as he regarded me with one eyebrow raised.

"You're like a female pharoah, aren't you?" He asked, a slow grin spreading across his features.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I couldn't help narrowing my eyes.

"A Pharoah has many wives. And you seem to have many virile men at your service."

"Most of them are Ranger's." I gave what was supposed to be a shrug, but my shoulders barely moved. Or at least, they didn't feel like they moved. Miguel, however, smiled softly.

"You're getting a bit more movement back every day."

And a lot more pain, I thought, but the drugs had kicked in nicely and I was feeling pretty good, so I didn't see the point. Besides. I didn't want to cry again. Not in front of a man whose sexiness rivaled George Clooney's.

"Sweetheart, you flatter me." Miguel chuckled, pulling a bag out of his lab-coat pocket.

"I said that out loud, didn't I? Damned drugs." I sighed. Miguel flashed me a two-thousand watt grin, and opened the bag to reveal a luscious boston creme donut. All I could hope was that I didn't drool.

"You're irrepressible." He told me, still grinning. He tore a piece off of the donut and held it to my lips.

"Omigod. You're going to feed me? Wait - the donut's for me?"

"Carlos said you had a rough day." He shrugged, and grinned at me again. I couldn't help it - every time the man grinned, I wanted to melt. He was as deadly as Ranger, that way. I opened my mouth to moan, and he stuffed the bite of donut in.

I did moan, then. It was sinfully delicious, and I had been desperate for the sugar. Funny that my hormones hadn't been in overdrive...maybe that was the pain...or the drugs. Or something in the middle. I was glad, at any rate. But mostly, I was glad for the donut. And the only way it would have tasted better had been if Ranger was feeding it. Miguel was almost as good, though, and the appreciative look on his face, and the sparkle in his eye, made it more than worth being fed by him.

We were about halfway through the donut when Ranger walked in. Actually, I was shamelessly licking a dollop of creme off of Miguel's finger when Ranger walked in. His blank mask slammed down, but behind it, I saw something I couldn't quite decipher. I wasn't sure if it was pain, disappointment, or fury. I'm not so sure Ranger knew, either. Miguel spared Ranger a glance, then looked at me with a devilish gleam in his eye as he fed me the last few bites ever so slowly, then leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on my lips.

"You taste like donut." He murmured.

"You have a death wish." I whispered back.

"Hey, if it gets him off his ass..." He didn't finish his thought, but instead straightened up and turned to Ranger with a grin. "Hey, Big Bro, decrease the crime population any today?"

"Fuck you." Ranger said. They spoke to each other like this a lot, but usually without heat. Today, though, there was something else in Ranger's tone, something I couldn't quite put my finger on…maybe it was jealousy. Although God knows what he'd be jealous of.

"Don't be a fool, Carlos." Miguel smacked Ranger on the shoulder, seeming to be oblivious to his brother's tone. "I'm off home. Aimee's waiting for me."

Ranger gave Miguel a long, assessing look, then nodded. "Tomorrow, then."

"Good night, Steph." Miguel flashed me another smile, then left. Some of the starch left Ranger's spine as the door swung closed behind his brother, and he came to sit on the bed, in the spot that Miguel had just vacated. He leaned down and kissed me, full on the mouth, tracing my lip with his tongue. Reclaiming what was his. Or at least, that's what it felt like as his hands came up to frame my face, and my mouth opened under his. His fingers massaged my scalp, and he traced my lips with his tongue again. I wanted more, though, and pressed forward, trying to deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding into his mouth. As soon as our tongues touched, Ranger broke the kiss, separating us until he was touching my nose with his.

"Please." I whispered.

"Babe. I don't want to hurt you."

"My lips don't hurt. Please."

He made a slight noise in his throat, and came back to my lips, kissing and nipping, and then sliding his tongue into my mouth to tangle with mine. I lost track of everything from the first stroke of his tongue to when he broke the kiss and trailed kisses up my face. "You should sleep. It's late." He whispered against my ear, before kissing the tender spot below it.

"Lay with me?" I whispered back.

He shook his head. "There's not enough room. It'll hurt you."

I turned my head and looked at the edge of the bed. There was just enough room for Ranger, if he lay on his side and squished against me a bit. "Please."

He looked at me a long moment, then shifted. He leaned down and unlaced his boots. Once they were off, he carefully positioned himself on the bed so he was on his side, facing me. He slung one arm over my stomach, and laced my fingers with his. "Ok?" He asked, his breath tickling my ear.

I made a noise of assent, and closed my eyes. The closeness between us, and Ranger's warm breath on the side of my face were reassuring. More reassuring than anything yet. The only problem was, even "more reassuring" wasn't enough.

"I'm scared." I whispered a while later, more to myself than anyone. Ranger's hand tightened over mine.

"I know." Ranger's voice held the barest hint of sadness, and I couldn't help the tear that leaked out of my eye. "We'll get you better."

"What if you can't?" Truth was, I wasn't just scared. Truth was, I'd never felt so alone in my life. Ever.

Ranger shifted slightly, and pressed a kiss on my cheek. "No matter what, I'll be there, Babe. Every step of the way."

This time it was me who squeezed Ranger's hand tighter, and I closed my eyes again. His presence and his steady breathing lulled me, and soon sleep claimed me.

When I woke, Ranger was gone. In his stead, Diesel was slouched in the chair, long legs stretched out, his gaze intent on my face.

"Did you find a way to fix me?" I couldn't help myself - I was hoping that his return, and his intense concentration, meant that maybe, just maybe, he'd found me a miracle.

"Sorry, Sunshine."

I decided to just not think about it. Not yet. Maybe after Physical Therapy. "You Ranger's relief?"

"Something like that." He grinned. We spent the next couple hours watching movies. Or, rather, Diesel watched movies while I let my mind wander down increasingly dark paths. I was dreading my next physical therapy appointment. I really didn't like pain, and the helplessness just made it all worse. The torture-loving maniac of a Physical Therapist was coming for me, whether I liked it, or not. I just wished I could sleep through it. Maybe they would anesthetize me.

Diesel popped out when the therapist strode into my room, and didn't come back when they were done. I think I was glad, though. It had been another agonizing experience, and I didn't quite trust that I wouldn't fall to begging him again. And I didn't want to beg. The nurse came in right away this time, though, with another dose of drugs. I sure wasn't going to complain about them today. As the nurse was leaving, Joe came in.

"So? It was better today?" He asked me, dropping a quick kiss on my lips before he sat in the chair Diesel had vacated an hour earlier.

"No difference." I told him. The hopeful puppy look in his eyes died, and he offered me a small smile.

"It'll take time. There's always tomorrow." He squeezed my hand in reassurance, but I could tell that he was disappointed too. We both wanted my life back. "I'm sure there'll be a difference tomorrow." He added. Then, he grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on to the football game. "I can't stay long, I'm on break, but I thought I'd come see how you were doing."

I thought about making a snarky reply about the big screen TV and the football game, but in truth, Morelli's eyes were on me, not the TV. Mostly. Not that we said much. I didn't have anything to say, or the energy to say anything - and Joe didn't know what to say. It was almost a relief when Lester barged in the door, Diesel hot on his heels.

"Woo! Television time!" Lester grinned. "This is way better than watching the monitors at Rangeman."

"Oh, so now you want Bombshell duty?" I asked, unable to keep the bite out of my voice.

"Who doesn't?" Lester raised one eyebrow. "You're way more fun than Ranger."

"Do I want to know?" Morelli asked as he stood and stretched.

"They like the danger." I told him. "You have to go?"

"Yeah. Gotta get back to work. Big case, and we're chasing our own tails most of the time." He kissed me, and then he was gone.

"We didn't chase him away, did we?" Lester asked, but he didn't sound too concerned. I also didn't get time to answer, before he was slouched in the chair. Diesel brought the other one around the bed, and sat down beside him.

"So we were thinking." Diesel started.

"About things we could do to keep you interested." Lester added.

"In what?" I asked. The drugs were kicking in and I was starting to feel punchy.

"Hey, hey, I value my life. I'm flattered you're interested, Beautiful, but Rangeman will kick my ass into Tibet if he so much as thinks..." Lester shuddered.

"Just interested." Diesel provided. "Distracted. Thinking about something other than..."

Oh, yeah. "So what did you guys come up with?" I was all for distracted.

"Well..." Diesel started, "we had lots of ideas..."

"But the best one, by far, was the porno book."

"The WHAT?!"

"Well, we thought you needed a project, something to keep you occupied." Diesel shrugged.

"And we thought that really, the most interesting thing would be if you wrote a porno book."

"A WHAT?!" I shrieked, and a nurse popped her head in almost immediately. "I'm fine." I told her. "A what?" I hissed at the boys, as soon as the door closed behind him.

"Well, maybe we should call it a romance novel." Diesel suggested.

"But let's skip the romance and get straight to the sex, shall we?"

"If you wanted, we could even act the scenes out." Diesel suggested, and Lester paled.

"You don't mean... who'd have to be the girl?"

"Inny Minny Mine-y Mo.." I sang, shifting my eyes between men.

"No way. I draw the line there." Lester crossed himself, and gave his head a sharp shake.

"Come on. It'll be fun." Diesel prodded.

Ok..well.. to them, I suppose it would be fun. "What kind of novel?"

"You mean what kind of sex, don't you?" Lester queried.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Hot and steamy. Wicked."

"Balls to the wall? Japanese triplets?" I asked, and couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face as Lester's eyes glazed over. God, they were easy. God, these drugs were good.

"Ok, so let's get to it." Diesel snapped his fingers and a pad of paper and a pen materialized. It didn't seem to phase him one bit to do it in front of Lester, either.

"You Unmentionable too?" I asked Lester.

"Nope. We've just known each other a long time." Lester shrugged. "Now how about it. Where's our heroine?" he asked, grabbing the pad and paper from diesel and shooting me an expectant look.

"In bed." Diesel supplied.

"How about in a pool. Naked."

"Hey, wait a minute. Isn't this my story?" I asked. "You wanted ME to have the hobby, right?"

"Right. So where's the heroine?" Lester leaned forward.

I smiled. "Lying in the grass by a waterfall."

Diesel wrinkled his noise. "Cliche."

"Hey, it's almost a pool." Lester grinned. "I could go with it! Alright Steph, Our hero arrives. What are they doing?"

"Well, I thought they were having sex..." I started, and Diesel snorted. "Ok, Ok." I laughed. "I'm thinking." I thought for a minute, but couldn't come up with anything. So I closed my eyes, and thought some more. "First we have to describe the hero." I decided. "No, nevermind, we'll do that later." I let my mind wander off into the forbidden land of fantasy, and pretty soon Ranger's perfectly sculpted, deliciously naked body was swimming in the pool of the waterfall. I started to describe his rippling muscles as he swam towards me with strong, even strokes, when Lester cleared his throat and interrupted me.

"Um...please tell me we're not talking about Morelli." He said. "I really, really don't want to hear about your sex life with Morelli."

I didn't think he'd want to hear that what I was really describing was Ranger... "Nope. No Japanese triplets involved. This guy is totally made up."

"It's me." Diesel said smugly, and I snorted.

"Dream on, blondie." I told him, before closing my eyes and jetting back into my fantasy. I made a point of describing dark skin and hair, and eyes so black that if you looked into them, you'd swear there was no light in the world, except a world with no light couldn't produce a man so fine. Diesel coughed, loudly, but I ignored him. And then as our hero approached our heroine, and her clothes melted away, he began to love her. My mind flashed to my night with Ranger, to that one night that changed how I looked at sex forever. Everything paled compared to that night, to the sensual promise that emanated from his every touch. I could hear my voice as I described things, things I hadn't felt or seen or experienced since that night. All the things that made me shy away from Ranger, and him shy away from me...the sensuality, the emotion, the all-consuming fire. When I finished, I opened my eyes. "That satisfy you, boys?" I asked.

"Holy shit." Lester's voice was barely a whisper. I didn't look to see if I'd affected him physically as well as verbally. "Holy shit." He said again.

"I have to say, Sunshine, that sounds like personal experience."

"Every girl's dream." I told him. "What time is it?"

"Late." Miguel answered for them as he walked in the door. "You're the only person we bend visiting hours for, you know."

"We need to be going, anyhow. Boss will be by soon, I'm sure." Lester told me. He squeezed my hand, Diesel kissed my forehead, and then the two of them did some weird hand-shake back-slapping thing, and left.

"You're life is never dull." Miguel commented, producing a donut and sitting on the edge of my bed.

"You are god." I told him, eagerly accepting the first bite of donut.

"Don't let Carlos hear you say that." He laughed. "How're you feeling?"

"The drugs are goooooddddd..." I admitted. "I still couldn't do anything."

"We're still assessing nerve damage, but it's looking promising. The thing is, even as the pressure comes off of the nerves, and the synapses repair themselves... well, it's a long process."

I was hearing that a lot, lately. I sighed, and accepted another bite of donut. "You're totally different from Ranger." I commented, again, after I'd swallowed. I tried to start this conversation every night, to learn more about Ranger, but most of the time, my timing sucked. Either Miguel had to leave, or the man in black himself showed up, or...he just wouldn't talk.

"Carlos got the worst of things." Miguel said, feeding me another bite of donut. "I've always thought that maybe he was rather sensitive, but he's never shown it. He always seemed to feel that it was his duty to protect us, though. From the bullies, from the gangs... from everything. We have a good family, but growing up wasn't easy for any of us. We just all dealt with it differently."

"Ranger said that... But you're so open, for having a difficult life." Every night, we'd chat for a little while. His open, laughing, easy going manner was polar opposite from Ranger's.

"It's easy to hide behind." Miguel shrugged. Then he changed the subject. "So why, exactly, are you with the cop instead of Carlos?"

I blew out a sigh. "I ask myself that a lot. I mean, I love Joe, but..."

"There's something special between you and my brother."

"Yeah." If only he'd see it. "So what about you? Are you single?"

"Not technically, I guess. But kind of. Why, you interested?" He flashed me a huge grin. Where Ranger's grin was mostly just the slight curvature of his lips, Miguel grinned with his whole face - ear to ear. "Cause if you are," He added, leaning in close to me. "You know... If Carlos won't commit to you... you should know that I would, in a heartbeat." Then he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, with the tiniest bit of tongue. The air was heavy as he drew back, and then he winked at me. I turned my head and looked over his shoulder to see Ranger, standing in the doorway. His feet were planted shoulder-width apart, his arms were crossed, and his face was blank.

"I seem to be walking in on this a lot." His voice was flat. If I could have, I'd have gotten up and run like hell.

"Somebody's gotta wake you up, Brother." Miguel laughed, then slapped him on the shoulder on his way out. Ranger stood there for a minute, before making his way to the bed and sitting in the chair to stare at me, his eyes dark and intense.


End file.
